Bush installation - driving me crazy!

Slugoid · Postby **Slugoid** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 12:35 am

How do you get the front lower arm bushes on! I tried pushing it in with the same clamp I used to get the bushes off (borrowed from the club) and the bloody thing keeps slipping off! Took me over an hour or more to get the lower rear bush in. Then the same thing for the lower front, but because the housing is flared it makes it even harder to push it in with the clamp. Tried by hand, and was close to getting it in, but wouldn't work. In the end I gave up...gonna try tomorrow after work.

Would be nice if juffa or matty (who has both used the same clamp for their bush installation) give me some tips as to how I can get the bushes in easier. It's literally driving me crazy!

StanTheMan · Postby **StanTheMan** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 7:50 am

I/we burned the crap out of them. Then proceeded to cut the head/flange off with an old chisel then pushed them through . I had the bench press for that. I ended up bending one of the A arms.

With pushing the bushes in I heavily relied on Big Dog.......who is seriously strong.

I used one of those Brick chisel to wedge it in at a slight angle. I does take a fair bit of strength.....especially if you still have it all attached to the car. At least i had a work bench to lean against & a few other bodies to steady it.

good luck.

I know I said it at the time......But the help I got from other dodgy partons , especially ampz & Big Dog was priceless . There is no way I would have been able to get it done in 1 day without thier help & expertise.

StanTheMan · Postby **StanTheMan** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 8:00 am

oops just re-read your post :roll:

err.... I'm sure you will not burn your new bushes :roll:

Andrew · Postby **Andrew** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 8:25 am

Keep pushing...we found that air tool and more than one pair of hands helped.

...and a link just incase you hadnt seen it.

Slugoid · Postby **Slugoid** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 8:32 am

Thanks for the tip. All I can depend on now is an extra pair of hand, which happened to bail on me last night :roll:

. I'll let you in on the progress later in the week.

Thanks for the link Andrew. Was a big help for me getting the shocks and bushes out.

Juffa · Postby **Juffa** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 8:54 am

Well done for giving it a go!
I found the clamp a pain to use as it is quite heavy whcih makes it diifficult for one person to hold on to while trying to turn the thread, holding onto the the suspension component and keeping them all aligned at the same time. I tended to remove all of the components and push the bushes out and in using a big, heavy duty bench vice that I bought for the job. The vice does not move around as it is bolted to the bench and I could hold the suspension component and bush with one hand while adjusting the vice. For the one front end suspension component that I did not want to remove from the car because it meant seperating the ball joint I removed the vice from my work bench and took into the garage. A extra pair of hands will make all of the difference.

J

manga_blue · Postby **manga_blue** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 9:12 am

The two big ones were really a pain. I shaped a 3/4 inch thick piece of wood to about the same outside diameter as the bush housing with a hole in the centre about the same diameter as the bush hole. Just joined that and the bush together in series and pressed it through dowel first.

Hot Rodders · Postby **Hot Rodders** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 9:37 am

Is it me, or is this another job for..........DODGY DAY!

ben wilson · Postby **ben wilson** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 6:08 pm

Grab a hose clamp and tighten it over the alrge end of the bush, that way it will get it started in the tube. Once you get it started, it won't fly out sideways.

If you can find one, a set of Triton 'Super Jaws' work really well...

RobbieRat · Postby **RobbieRat** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 6:41 pm

Fairdinkum, u blokes crack me up, all you need is a vice and a socket set, u use the vice as a press and the correct size socket to drive the bush in with. to easy :mrgreen:

bigdog · Postby **bigdog** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 7:15 pm

Robbie that would be true if the bushes were OEM, but the nolathane bushes come with a bevelled lip that has to be compressed into the arm, and unless the vice was aligned precisely they will simply slip sideways under pressure. A hoseclamp is an excellent suggestion methinks...

RobbieRat · Postby **RobbieRat** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 7:38 pm

I didn't have any probs doing mine with the vice method, mine are urethane too, perhaps mine had a bigger champher on the leading edge, mine are Mckay brand?

At the end of the day wishbone bushes are wishbone bushes, the type of car dosn't matter, ive done heaps with a vice and socket, they all go in the same way.

A little bit o saliva on the bush hepls to get them started.

ben wilson · Postby **ben wilson** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 10:14 pm

A vice helped, but the hose clamp made it easy.

Slugoid · Postby **Slugoid** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 2:13 am

Thanks for the tips/advice! Couldn't have done it without them.

I used the hose clamp method and it was very useful indeed. I could even push some of them by hand. Using the big \"G\" clamp and the hose clamp around the bush, even the bush that took me an hour to get in yesterday took me one go and less than 10 mins to do

.

So front are all nice and good, with the new bushes and coilovers. Now to tackle the rear ones

. Hope it'll take me less time this time round with the new found experiences

.

Juffa · Postby **Juffa** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 7:45 am

Slugoid wrote:Thanks for the tips/advice! Couldn't have done it without them.

I used the hose clamp method and it was very useful indeed. I could even push some of them by hand. Using the big "G" clamp and the hose clamp around the bush, even the bush that took me an hour to get in yesterday took me one go and less than 10 mins to do .

So front are all nice and good, with the new bushes and coilovers. Now to tackle the rear ones . Hope it'll take me less time this time round with the new found experiences .

Cool. I found the rear ones much easier as the suspension components are easier to get to and the bushes were easier to install. Have fun.

J